Post-Grad

So…I graduated and it is now October. What have I been doing? Well here is a life update. You see, I’ve been meaning to write this blog or any blog for a long time now, but I kept putting it off. Why? Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you an actual reason that would suffice… but let’s start from graduation. The weekend of May 9th was supposed to be the weekend where all my depression went away because I was done. That weekend meant that I was finished with school and could now move on into this new chapter of my life. It’s safe to say, it wasn’t. Grad weekend was overall a great experience. I got to graduate and I was able to see some of my best friends graduate as well. My family was able to come and watch it from the parking lot and I was able to have a nice little Sabbath luncheon with loved ones. All these good things were happening around me so why didn’t I feel relief? Well here is something no one really discussed with me. We all know that just because you have an education does not mean you get a job. If you’re like me, you aren’t apart of that “we all know” statement. Let’s not get it twisted, my price definitely went up. A young black man with a degree. I was and will always be proud of myself for that but that still doesn’t equal a job. You see before graduation and even before senior year I was doing my best to make strides so that I could have a job after college but then covid happened and I did not know what to do. All the internships I applied for got cancelled so then I started applying for virtual internships and 2021 internships. I applied for all the internships I could find and got rejected or ghosted for pretty much all of them. It was either I received a rejection response or I would make it the 2nd or 3rd round of interviews and then get cut. After filling out so many applications and going through many different processes you kind of give up. I stopped applying for internships and decided to go the job route and started applying for jobs. I’d get some call backs but they would either insist that I start working immediately or I was told that I was not the right fit for the job. I even had some places telling me they could wait for me to graduate to start but then when I tried to continuously reach out to the hiring manger, they would have given up my spot after some time. Other places would call back and ask for experience, I would mention the experience I gained in classroom and personal projects but then they would ask about internship experience…..obviously the conversation would go dead from there. It seemed like they only jobs that would stay around were word of mouth marketing jobs. Those jobs where you stand in a grocery store and ask “Have you heard of our services?” only to get brushed off by hundreds of people simply trying to grocery shop. Not to knock anyone who does have that job, but I’ve done that before and it wasn’t the right fit for me. Taking all these loses led me nowhere and jobless. Only then did I realize that is why I felt no relief. We always think of how everything could go perfect but forget that a perfect world doesn’t exist. Everything in my life went left and now it was summer and I needed to figure out the next steps in my life. Luckily, I was able to get a transition job where I am on contract till the end of the year and during this time I have gone through more depression and added on anxiety, got a dog for emotional support, moved to the East Coast, and now I am back on the grind to make my dreams come true. Although nothing has gone according to the plan 12 year old JD had in store, I am glad to be where I am now. This past summer had its ups and downs but I wouldn’t change a thing because I got to spend quality time with people who will be in my life forever and others whom I will be able to carry on the memory of them forever as well. I may not be making that career money yet but I am still alive, have a roof over my head, and food to eat. I guess besides this being a slight update of my life, I also want to say to remember to hug your loved ones. You never really know what could happen so tell them you love them or give your mom a kiss on the cheek or don’t, you’ll have to live with that regret…couldn’t be me though. Just be kind and go with God! Love y’all and shout to you who is still reading this, I appreciate and love you especially.